Facebook will pay its IPO underwriters one fifth of the average rate, says source

Facebook could be set to retain a significant amount of its initial public offering, after a source close to the deal claimed that the firm will pay its underwriters a fee of just 1.1 percent of the deal, according to a Bloomberg report.

Wall Street firms usually expect payment of 3-7 percent, according to the source, while Bloomberg says its recorded an average of 5.48 percent paid out in 127 offerings last year. However, the magnitude of the deal — both in terms of finance and prestige — and future business opportunities are said to be behind the decision.

Facebook’s 31 underwriters, which are led by Morgan Stanley and include J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, will share the 1.1 percent fee as the offering could generate other lucrative business opportunities from the social network going forward.

Reuters reports that the banks are said to have met with Facebook executives and asked questions that are believed to have included future monetization plans, while recently filed legal action from Yahoo was also reported to have been talked about. However, Facebook “did not provide much information”, according to the source.

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Facebook’s IPO is expected to create thousands of millionaires out of its shareholders, the implications of which are likely to boost the tech industry with new investment opportunities and revenue. Although our own Alex Wilhelm thinks the resulting wealth will include a lot of “dumb money”.